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SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/29 October) — Two candidates for barangay chair in Surigao del Norte never thought they would win in Monday’s village elections not by leads in the vote but by sheer stroke of luck.
The lucky candidates are from Barangay Sto Nino in San Isidro town and Barangay Sta. Cruz in San Benito town, both in Siargao Island.
In Barangay Sto. Nino, Danilo Sanico and incumbent barangay chair Circulano Cacayan got 185 votes apiece.
The tie was settled by drawing lots, according to Atty. Geraldine C. Samson, the provincial election supervisor.
“With his luck, Cacayan remains the village chieftain,” Samson told MindaNews.
In Barangay Sta. Cruz, Joseph Tagoctoc and Merilou Hermoso got 194 votes each.
They underwent the same method, and Tagoctoc emerged as the winner.
Samson said these cases are rare in the 335 villages of the province.
Atty. Francisco Pobe, regional director of the Commission on Elections in Caraga Region said no similar incidents happened in other parts of the region. (Roel N. Catoto/MindaNews)